Contextualizing the emergence of history of philosophy within eighteenth-century German Enlightenment, this book discusses the philosophical nature of the historiographical concept ‘system of philosophy’ and the concept’s influence upon the methods of history of philosophy and history of ideas.

First philosophy: reality, truth, and knowledge -- The universe in brief -- Ontology -- Theory of truth -- Epistemology -- Axiology: goodness, beauty, and liberty -- Values as situations -- Ethics -- Aesthetics -- Political philosophy.

These two volumes complete this very ambitious trilogy, begun with Rights--The New Quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns. Volume 2 juxtaposes the major philosophies of history, which are said to occupy the crucial terrain between politics and "pure" philosophy. The chapter-structure of the book parallels exactly the logic of the argument being made.

Towards the end of his life, Descartes published the first four parts of a projected six-part work, The Principles of Philosophy. This was intended to be the definitive statement of his complete system of philosophy, dealing with everything from cosmology to the nature of human happiness. In this book, Stephen Gaukroger examines the whole system, and reconstructs the last two parts, 'On Living Things' and 'On Man', from Descartes' other writings. He relates the work to the (...) tradition of late Scholastic textbooks which it follows, and also to Descartes' other philosophical writings, and he examines the ways in which Descartes transformed not only the practice of natural philosophy but also our understanding of what it is to be a philosopher. His book is a comprehensive examination of Descartes' complete philosophical system. (shrink)

This article critically explores the history and nature of a hermeneutic assumption which frequently guided interpretations of Plotinus from the 18th century onwards, namely that Plotinus advanced a system of philosophy. It is argued that this assumption was introduced relatively late, in the 18th and 19th centuries, and that it was primarily made possible by Brucker’s methodology for the history of philosophy, dating from the 1740s, to which the concept of a ‘system of philosophy’ was (...) essential. It is observed that the concept is absent from Ficino’s commentary from the 15th century, and that it remained absent in interpretations produced between the 15th and 18th centuries. It is also argued that the assumption of a ‘system of philosophy’ in Plotinus is historically incorrect—we do not find this concept in Plotinus’ writings, and his own statements about method point in other directions. Eduard Zeller is typically regarded as the first to give a satisfying account of Plotinus’ philosophy as a whole. In this article, on the other hand, Zeller is seen as having finalised a tradition initiated in the 18th century. Very few Plotinus scholars have examined the interpretative development prior to Zeller. Schiavone and Bonetti , for instance, have given little attention to Brucker’s introduction of the concept of a ‘system of philosophy’. The present analysis, then, has value for an understanding of Plotinus’ Enneads. It also explains why “pre-Bruckerian” interpretations of Plotinus appear alien to the modern reader; the analysis may even serve to make some sense of the hermeneutics employed by Renaissance Platonists and commentators, who are often eclipsed from the tradition of Platonism. (shrink)

Because contemporary political philosophy owes a significant debt to the great nineteenth-century German philosophies of history, a sound knowledge of German Idealist philosophy is crucial to an understanding of our own time. In _Political Philosophy 2_, Luc Ferry provides not only a thorough introduction to German Idealism and its critics, but also an insightful look at contemporary political philosophy. Ferry begins this second volume of his ambitious three-volume _Political Philosophy _by considering both the structure and (...) the potential political effects of the various philosophies of history born of German Idealism. He focuses on the key question of whether, and to what extent, the principle of reason may be said to govern the totality of the historically real. This leads to an examination of Hegel's criticism of the moral view of the world and to an assessment of the phenomenological criticism of Hegel put forth by Heidegger and Arendt. (shrink)

THE P R E F A C E, Giving fome ACCOUNT of the LIFE, WRITINGS, and CHARACTER of the AUTHOR. T"\R. FRANCIS HUTCHESON was born on the 8th of ...

Because contemporary political philosophy owes a significant debt to the great nineteenth-century German philosophies of history, a sound knowledge of German Idealist philosophy is crucial to an understanding of our own time. In Political Philosophy 2 , Luc Ferry provides not only a thorough introduction to German Idealism and its critics, but also an insightful look at contemporary political philosophy. Ferry begins this second volume of his ambitious three-volume Political Philosophy by considering both the structure (...) and the potential political effects of the various philosophies of history born of German Idealism. He focuses on the key question of whether, and to what extent, the principle of reason may be said to govern the totality of the historically real. This leads to an examination of Hegel's criticism of the moral view of the world and to an assessment of the phenomenological criticism of Hegel put forth by Heidegger and Arendt. (shrink)

Often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, Francis Hutcheson was born in the north of Ireland to an Ulster-Scottish Presbyterian family. Organised into three 'books' that were divided between two volumes, A System of Moral Philosophy was his most comprehensive work. It synthesised ideas that he had formulated as a minister and as the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Published posthumously by his son in 1755, prefaced by an account of his (...) life, it is the only treatise by Hutcheson for which a manuscript is known to have survived. Asserting that individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour, Hutcheson offers a model that mediates between individual interests and communal ideals. Containing the concluding chapters of Book 2 and Book 3, Volume 2 explores the role of familial and political governance in relation to communal happiness. (shrink)

Often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, Francis Hutcheson was born in the north of Ireland to an Ulster-Scottish Presbyterian family. Organised into three 'books' that were divided between two volumes, A System of Moral Philosophy was his most comprehensive work. It synthesised ideas that he had formulated as a minister and as the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Published posthumously by his son in 1755, prefaced by an account of his (...) life, it is the only treatise by Hutcheson for which a manuscript is known to have survived. Asserting that individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour, Hutcheson offers a model that mediates between individual interests and communal ideals. Containing Book 1 and part of Book 2, Volume 1 describes the role and perception of 'perfect' and 'imperfect' natural rights. (shrink)

Excerpt from Outline of the Vedanta System of Philosophy According to Shankara HE fundamental idea Of the Vedanta system, as most tersely expressed in the words. Of the Veda, That art thou (tat tvam asil), and I am Brahman. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving (...) the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

This is a review of Stephen Gaukroger's book Descartes's System of Natural Philosophy.

Hegel's System of Ethical Life An Interpretation by H. S. Harris I. THE CHARACTER OF THE MANUSCRIPT. The untitled manuscript among Hegel's Jena papers, ...

This chapter contains section titled: References Further reading.

Ferry begins this second volume of his ambitious three-volume Political Philosophy by considering both the structure and the potential political effects of the various philosophies of history born of German Idealism.

‘역사철학’은 역사 또는 역사학에 대한 반성적 탐구로서 역사 및 역사학에 철학적 기초를 마련하는 것을 목표로 하는 철학의 한 분야라고 정의할 수 있다. 그러나 ‘역사철학’이라 통칭하여 부르는 철학의 분과는 본성상 단일한 종류의 것이 아니다. 이것은 역사철학의 탐구가 다양한 차원과 다양한 수준에서 이루어지는 복합적 구성체임을 의미한다. 그렇기 때문에, 중층적 구조연관을 이루고 있는 역사철학의 각 영역이 해명하고자 하는 사태의 본성 및 그것이 전체 체계에 대해서 지니는 위상과 의의를 충분히 염두에 두지 않는 한, 역사학에 대한 역사철학의 정초관계는 온전히 해명될 수 없는 것이다. 나는 이 (...) 글에서 후설 현상학의 방법인 ‘현상학적 태도변경’과 ‘현상학적 환원’에 입각하여 역사철학 여러 분과 간의 경계를 구획하고 그들의 구조연관을 해명함으로써, 역사학의 토대로서의 역사철학의 체계를 개괄하고자 한다. 특히 사실과 본질, 그리고 존재와 인식이라는 두 가지 기준에 따라 나는 인식론적 역사철학과 존재론적 역사철학을 구분하고, 각각이 제기하고 있는 물음의 본성이 어떻게 다르며 그럼에도 또 양자가 어떻게 통일적인 구조연관을 이루는지 보일 것이다. (shrink)

This paper sketches the antilogism of Christine Ladd-Franklin and historical advancement about antilogism, mainly constructs an axiomatic system Atl based on first-order logic with equality and the wholly-exclusion and not-wholly-exclusion relations abstracted from the algebra of Ladd-Franklin, with soundness and completeness of Atl proved, providing a simple and convenient tool on syllogistic reasoning. Atl depicts the empty class and the whole class differently from normal set theories, e.g. ZFC, revealing another perspective on sets and set theories. Two series of (...) Dotterer and the theorem proved by Russinoff are re-characterized in antilogistic formulas corresponding to the square of opposition and twenty-four moods of syllogism. Then the restricted equivalence between two forms of antilogism and minimal inconsistency is built up, implying the internal connection between antilogisms and minimal inconsistency and leaving two related conjectures not proved. Besides, this paper provides a new explanation for the reason why contrariety, subcontrariety, and subalternation and the nine special moods require the non-empty assumption. (shrink)

During a climate of strong disenchantment toward systematic thought, the French philosopher Martial Gueroult (1891–1976) applied the concept of a system to the field of history of philosophy. His ‘dianometics’ is, among other aspects, a philosophy of the history of philosophy that considers each philosophical work as an autonomous system. This article proposes a critical reading of Gueroult’s work (which is rarely discussed outside of the French–speaking community) and aims to demonstrate that his dianoematics offers (...) a new insightful method for approaching and understanding the history of philosophy. First, I will reconstruct Gueroult’s argument to demonstrate how he justifies the possibility of a philosophical history of philosophy. I will then present Gueroult’s conception of system and how it can be used as an analysis technique for the history of philosophy. However, Gueroult’s project sometimes betrays some of its promises. A critical account will be presented as well. (shrink)

이 연구는 명백히 ‘신학’적 주제들의 대전이라는 제목을 달고 있는 토마스 아퀴나스의 『신학대전』을 ‘철학’적으로 해석할 수 있는 관점과 방식을 발견하고자하는 시도로서, 이는 결코 『신학대전』이 그 자체로 토마스 자신이 이해하는 ‘철학’의 의미에서 ‘철학적 저술’임을 보이려는 것이 아니라 그 자체로는 신학적 저작인 『신학대전』이 하나의 특수한 ‘철학 체계’를 특수한 방식으로, 신학과 분리하기 어려운 방식으로 포함한다는 것을 보이려는 것이다. 토마스는 ‘거룩한 가르침’으로서 『신학대전』의 필요성과 성격을 설명하면서 ‘철학’의 한계를 설정한다. 그렇지만 철학의 한계를 넘어서는 ‘거룩한 가르침’은 동시에 철학으로부터 무엇인가를 받아들이며, 철학의 원리를 토대로 진행함으로써 철학을 자신 안에 (...) 포함한다. (shrink)

Compilation of basic text of six systems of Indian philosophy.

This book provides a comprehensive account of the Nyaya-Vaisheshika teachings. Nyaya and Vaisheshika are two of the six philosophical systems of Hinduism, much less known in the West than the more popular Yoga and Vedanta systems. Nyaya teaches reasoning to determine what is valid knowledge, and Vaisheshika teaches what are the ultimate constituents of the universe. The author wrote this book after seeing how little understood was Indian philosophy in the West. He tried to take account of Western presuppositions (...) in presenting this Indian system. At the same time, he followed the Indian practice of adopting the Nyaya-Vaisheshika position as his own while writing about it. (shrink)

Often described as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, Francis Hutcheson was born in the north of Ireland to an Ulster-Scottish Presbyterian family. Organised into three 'books' that were divided between two volumes, A System of Moral Philosophy was his most comprehensive work. It synthesised ideas that he had formulated as a minister and as the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Published posthumously by his son in 1755, prefaced by an account of his (...) life, it is the only treatise by Hutcheson for which a manuscript is known to have survived. Asserting that individual natural rights derive from an innate understanding of moral behaviour, Hutcheson offers a model that mediates between individual interests and communal ideals. Volume 1 describes the role and perception of 'perfect' and 'imperfect' natural rights. Volume 2 explores the role of familial and political governance in relation to communal happiness. (shrink)

* one of the great philosophical works of the eighteenth century * the rare and valuable first edition, reprinted in its entirety 'Of the countless reprints of Scottish Enlightenment works that Thoemmes has given us, none is more welcome than this. The posthumous System was not only Hutcheson's own last word on the full range of topics that he included under the rubric "moral philosophy", but also a monumental event in the book history of the Scottish Enlightenment itself.' (...) - Newsletter of the 18th-Century Scottish Studies Society Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) was a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and one of the eighteenth century's most influential philosophers. He taught Adam Smith and he greatly influenced Hume and Bentham. His theory that the only proper actions are those which will generally benefit society prepared the way for the English utilitarians. His views were extensively discussed throughout Britain and ranged as far as the American colonies, where his political theory was adopted by revolutionaries. He is best known for his contribution to moral theory, being the chief exponent of the 'moral sense' doctrine which, following Shaftesbury, emphasized feeling rather than reasoning as the source of judgements of virtue and vice.A System of Moral Philosophy was written as early as 1738, but added to and altered by Hutcheson throughout his life. Published posthumously in 1755 by Hutcheson's son, Francis the younger, the System is Hutcheson's longest work and the fullest explanation of his method. Giving a comprehensive account of morality, it includes discussions of human nature; our duties to God, to each other and ourselves; the supreme good; civil liberty; rights; contracts; marriage; the rights and duties of parents; and the laws of peace and war. The work also contains an argument against slavery that was reprinted in colonial Philadelphia and helped give academic weight to the anti-slavery movement. William Leechman, a friend of Hutcheson and Professor of Divinity at Glasgow, contributes a highly valuable biography. This edition also includes a new introduction by Daniel Carey. (shrink)

While the story of Stanislav Petrov – the Soviet Lieutenant Colonel who likely saved the world from nuclear holocaust in 1983 – is often trotted out to advocate for the view that human beings ought to be kept “in the loop” of automated weapons’ responses, I argue that the episode in fact belies this reading. By attending more closely to the features of this event – to Petrov’s professional background, to his familiarity with the warning system, and to his (...) decisions to defy his protocol – it becomes clear that Petrov was not seamlessly working “in his loop,” but reassessing it entirely. I claim that this exhibits a paradox intrinsic to all automated loops: namely, that their optimum function in fact rests on unforeseen human interventions that cannot be reliably codified ex ante, that is, that good judgment cannot simply be “programmed into” their protocols. This dependence, moreover, reveals automation’s ineluctable need for virtue ethics – not in the usual sense (whereby ethics deliberates about, say, possible damages and loss of life), but in the sense that ethical judgment, rightly understood, entails the reassessment of all of the conditions surrounding a decision, including whether a protocol should be followed at all. (shrink)

Introductory chapter.--The Vedas.--The systems of philosophy.--Vedânta or Uttara-Mîmâmsâ.--Pûrva Mîmâmsâ.--Sâmkhyaphilosophy.--Yoga-philosophy.--Nyâya and Vaiseshika.--Vaiseshika philosophy.

Introduction to the Difference Essay. FICHTE, SCHELLING, AND HEGEL The essay on the Difference between Fichte's and Schelling's System of Philosophy was ...

The last thirty years of scholarship in western medieval philosophical historiography have seen a number of reflections on the methodological paradigms, schools, trends, and dominant approaches in the field. As a contribution to this ongoing assessment of the existing methods of studies in medieval philosophy and theology and a supplement to classifications offered by M. Colish, J. Inglis, C. König-Pralong, J. Marenbon, A. de Libera, and others, the article offers another explanatory tool. Here is a description of an imaginary (...) system of methodological coordinates that systematizes the current tendencies by placing them in a three-dimensional system of axes. Every axis corresponds to a certain aspect of the historical and systematic research in medieval thought and symbolizes a possible movement between two extremes representing opposite methodological values and directions. The methods and approaches practiced in recent studies in medieval philosophy and theology might be schematically located inside this general system of argumentational, focal (or objectival), and (con)textual axes with their intersection identified with what some scholars call the “integral” model of study. This explanatory tool allows one to see how current approaches and methods form a panoply of axes that belong together in one complex grid and helps to visualize the tapestry of existing approaches in medieval philosophical historiography. (shrink)